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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

There was an uneasy panic within the city of Riverfall. After enduring curses and gifts from the Gods there was really no telling what was next. Everyday life seemed...different. Saga could see the subtle changes to the people of Riverfall. As a Mage Knight, he was around people all the time. And there was definitely something plaguing some of their minds.

The question that was on Saga's mind was..how come he was unaffected? Besides sleep talking in his dreams told by his on and off fling, there was nothing abnormal going on. His darker half was strangely silent. Vurik was always vying for control to become a Dark Wizard. But nothing for the last few days.

This allowed his training to become a little bit more smoother. The weather was beautiful today and butneeded to hone his art. Saga was outside the city of Riverfall. Deciding to leave his Squires to train with another Patron.

Along the path out to from garrison where it was relatively safe. He found a clearing a little distance away where he could be alone. Saga began to chant in the Ancient language. He closed his eyes as he began to concentrate on his deep Djed reserves and draw the magic. A silver res began to erect from his outstretched hands and began to seep into the ground below him. He pooled into a central area in front of himself.

A small pillar of rock began to construct itself as he shaped the res as cylindrical as he could. The earth attracted itself to the res but he found it harder to make it all attract fast enough. Saga frowned as he completed the small pillar from the ground. It rose only up to his chest and it wasn't very thick, about the width of pole. Rooted from the ground he wanted to test to see if it was sturdy enough.

He unsheathed his Katana and pulled back and swung it hard towards the middle. It was kind of sturdy but his blade clanged against it. "Not bad. Now here's the harder part."

Saga was practicing a spell he needed to perfect. Which was the Earth wall, but he couldn't quite make it strong enough. He used it once against bandits but they were able to break past it easily. Control was focal.

There was a great pool of Djed reserves within Saga, it was just up to him to access it. The Akontak focused for a few seconds while he delved within himself and willed his Djed to his whims. He raised his hands out in front of him and a silver like Res spread from his hands. Saga willed it to spread into a wide square shape and it connected it to the ground.

He transmuted the top half and allowed the rest to be absorbed by the ground itself. Saving himself the stress of transmuting the entire wall. The Earth wall was no bigger than his chest and only about 5 feet wide. The wall was thick and completely hardened just the way he transmuted it from the Earth available to him.

It still took him almost a minute to create it, and the strain was apparent on his body. The bigger the constructs the more it took out of him. But he still was able to use his Reimancy as long as it was small spells.

All the while he was practicing his magic. There was a figure that materialized out of now here and began to focus its attention solely on Saga. The figure was black wispy smoke then it began to take form. It stretched a cloud began to form into legs, arms, and a humanoid figure took shape.

The figure was naked and beautifully radiant. A skintone unseen by the lands. But before the face could form, there was an evil sinister feeling that came from it before it was disguised by something clearly the opposite.

Orin had somehow only recently discovered that there was an outpost of the Syliran Order garrisoned outside of Riverfall. This was extremely odd for the chef for a variety of reasons. First, Orin had been in the city of Riverfall for quite a while now and had never discovered this fact before now. That may have been due to selective obliviousness, however. The second reason that Orin was surprised by the Outpost was that Orin hadn't thought that the Knights had much influence outside of the fortress city and its environs, let alone outside the region of Sylira. So the fact that the web of the order could stretch this far had never occurred to the chef. It was slightly bothersome. The chef had thought that he'd been out of the Order’s reach. The chef also couldn't imagine the martial Akalaks would've been happy with such a military presence practically on their doorstep. However, it wasn't as if he could judge the inscrutable actions of the dark-skinned giants.

Orin had a rather mixed relationship with the Syliran Order. On the one hand, the chef appreciated the excellent job they did of protecting their citizenry from outside threats. In fact, their efforts were entirely responsible for keeping the region around Syliras from being completely reclaimed by the Wildlands. So it was true that they created a safe haven. On the other hand, Orin felt that it was probably possible to protect people without being as oppressive and restricting as the Order was. If you were a regular citizen, like Orin had been, and not a Knight or a Squire then quite a few parts of the city were closed off. Information was denied, and Orin felt that was the greatest sin of all. If there was nothing to hide, then it seemed to Orin everything should be open.

It was part of the reason that Orin had never really bought into the worship of Sylir. The qualities that Sylir embodied were admirable. But Orin could never really embrace the god. Instead the chef had gravitated towards Priskil who seemed kinder and gentler, and no less on the side of good. Orin couldn't believe that the major organization that venerated the god of civilization couldn't be more civilized. On the surface, they were shiny and kept the peace, but underneath they kept their citizens down for no reason Orin could tell. In Orin’s mind, civilization should mean that everyone was free to take their own path and forge their own destiny, as long as they didn't harm others. If that opened them up to more mistakes and danger than they might otherwise encounter, well, Orin thought that was a price worth paying. However, regardless of the ideological differences, Orin would never be able to forgive the Order for letting his abusive father retain custody of his younger self. That was the way of the Order, though. As long as the problems didn't leave the home and appearances were maintained above all then almost anything can and would be excused.

Despite that, Orin quite liked individual members of the Order, particularly the squires, who hadn't yet been indoctrinated. So it was with a morbid curiosity that the chef had decided to visit this Outpost. He was torn between hoping he might know some of the individuals stationed there and wishing that they would all be strangers and he could go home without having to talk to anyone and bring up thoughts and memories better left buried. Whatever the circumstances, Orin’s plan had been to visit the Order garrison.

Of course, the best laid plans were the quickest to fall apart. The chef wisely tried to stay behind the city walls, as dangers lurked without. Without a very good reason, like the one he had today, Orin never left the safety of Riverfall. So what was odd was that Orin saw a lone figure walking out to the Sea of Grass. The chef hesitated, torn. It appeared to be an Akalak, who typically knew better than to leave the city alone. Presumably this individual knew that and wouldn't have gone off without cause. However, the chef also knew that leaving someone out there without even checking to see if having a companion would make them safer was against the chef’s nature. Even though they were still within sight of the city walls, danger could strike. So, cursing his altruism, the chef deviated from his course and set to follow this Akalak.

Eventually, the dark-skinned giant stopped, for which Orin was grateful. It was hard to keep up with someone significantly larger, and the chef had been forced to break into a jog at some point. Before Orin could actually make his presence known, however, the Akalak started producing a substance from his body. Orin felt his eyes widen in surprise. That’s Reimancy. More confused than ever, since magic was theoretically allowed to be practiced within the city limits. So why this mage would come all the way out here was a mystery to Orin.

The chef decided to settle back and wait, hoping that it would become clear in time. Indeed, his patience was rewarded as a stone wall eventually appeared where nothing else had been before. Clearly the reason for the mage’s seclusion was because erecting these walls would bother others. Orin took a few steps and found himself speaking before his mind could ponder the ramifications. “That's pretty impressive. How'd you learn to do that.” The chef mentally cursed his lack of discretion. At least he'd started with a complete which everyone, especially mages, seemed to enjoy. “Oh, sorry to bother you. I was leaving the city and I saw you and I was going to ask if you needed assistance but clearly you can take care of yourself.” The chef was planning to leave it at that but some instinct prodded him to stick around for a least a few more chimes. “I'm Orin Fenix, and I must say your magic is pretty advanced looking.” The chef tilted his head quizzically. “You don't actually need assistance, do you? I never actually asked.”

It was odd for Saga to be outside, usually without his Squires as well. A first for him, but he felt that they needed a break from patrol but still needed to train. So in the care of another Patron the Akontak was left alone to his training. However he surely didn't think he'd run into anyone along the Kabrin Road. But to his pleasant surprise, there was a human walking along these roads.

To Saga he was average looking, but he was most peculiar to be outside by himself. But he was passing by and spoke to the young Akontak. “That's pretty impressive. How'd you learn to do that.”

Saga was usually weary of strangers who weren't Akalaks. Saga's white hair and large stature tended to bring curious questions. But he seemed not to notice and Saga wasn't wearing his armor only donning a simple tunic and outfit. So he didn't know he was a Mage Knight. He wasn't a noble so there was no need to pretend he was.

"Thank you. Its most appreciated. I learned magic from my mother when I was young," Saga replied with a deep smooth voice.

"Pleasure to meet you Orin. I am Ser Saga Otor of the Syliran Knights. Believe me, " Saga replied gesturing to his handiwork. "Its harder than it looks. But unless you have divine power to make me better. I doubt you could help."

"Don't listen to him, he's being humble. He doesn't need my power."

This was interjected by a very familiar voice from within the many brushes. The voice caught Saga and presumably Orin as well seeing as he was not partnered with it. Definitely a woman.

"Who are you?" The Akontak asked in the general direction of the voice. A growing and ecstatic feeling of joy spread throughout his mind and body. He has never felt this way before, except for one time...

That one time he met..."Priskil. How could you forget my voice already?" The Goddess said almost materializing from out of the brushes. Priskil seemed disappointed.

She was completely naked, save for an almost mirage of light that hid her more private areas. She was basically wearing light it seemed. Her was radiantly blonde, almost platinum that fell all the way down to her hips. Ever curve and crevice on her was beautiful in almost every way. Her eyes were a deep gold hazel that seemed to go on to another dimension. However she was sort of short, only reaching about 5 feet and 5 inches.

Saga was in love with the Goddess, since the first time he met her and became one of her Marked. It was her who convinced him to be a Knight. To bring hope where there was none. To be beacon in hopeless darkness.

Returning from his initial shock, Saga shook his head and bowed his head before his Goddess.

"I am deeply sorry Priskil. I was caught off guard by your sudden appearance," the Akontak was puzzled deeply by the showing of the Goddess.

Captivated by her beauty, elegance and power, it struck fear and happines into him. He didn't know how to feel."Don't be so serious. Last time you were this timid as well." Then her golden eyes fell onto Orin. Jabbing a finger to him she added, "Who's your friend? An Akontak hanging with a human? Not unheard of but unusual." A smile started to widen on her face.

The dark-skinned giant, who, Orin could now see, had a head of shockingly white hair and incredibly pale eyes, didn’t seem at all displeased at the chef’s intrusion. In fact, the other man seemed to welcome having some company, which Orin felt a little guilty about. After all, the human had only meant to make a short stop here, before moving on. Now, however, the two of them appeared to be having an actual conversation. Since the Akalak was a mage, Orin didn’t want to leave before it would be considered polite; mages were unpredictable at the best of times, and so Orin didn’t want to risk getting on the other man’s bad side. So now it appeared that Orin was stuck here, at least for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t all that bad. Orin was genuinely interested in what would bring a mage out here, of all places to practice raising a wall, of all things. It was odd behavior no matter how Orin thought about it.

The Akalak seemed pleased that Orin had noticed his skills. The members of the dark-skinned race did seem to be inordinately proud of their skill, so this man was unsurprisingly no exception. “Oh? She sounds like a wonderful mother, and clearly she was a good teacher given your current skill with the art.” Orin spared a moment to wonder how different his life might have been if his mother was alive. Maybe he’d have been loved, as he felt he never had been in his life. He didn’t like to dwell on thoughts of her, as it brought his depression roaring back. Besides, she was dead and gone, and Orin had never known her, so it was useless to speculate. There was a reason he did his best to keep his past buried. There was nothing good waiting for him there. “It must’ve been a nice way for the two of you to bond. Where’s your mother now?”

Apparently, when Orin was reluctant to visit the Order and half considering abandoning this whole exercise and turning back, the Order would find him. Just my luck. At meeting a full-blown Knight, Orin felt a rush of contradictory emotions. His past relationship with the Order was complicated, and so Orin didn’t know how he was supposed to react to the Knighthood now. He wasn’t one of their citizens any longer, so theoretically they had no power over him. Still, they were a powerful organization, and it wouldn’t do to anger them too much. Therefore, Orin carefully kept his emotions in check, away from both his face and his voice. “A knight! I’m from Syliras, well, Mithryn originally myself, so it’s always nice to see a friendly face.” Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to mention that he’d left, but it was too late now. “I was actually just heading to the Order headquarters here, but perhaps you could satisfy some of my curiosity now. Do you happen to know who is stationed there? I was going to see if I could visit friends and, well, if I don’t know anyone, you’d save me the trip.”

At the idea that Orin could help Ser Saga with magic, the chef laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant was there a problem I could assist with. Sounds like there isn’t and that you have everything under control!” Saga was an Akalak and a mage knight, to boot. The Knight was definitely far better equipped to deal with any issue that cropped up far better than Orin could.

With that in mind, the chef was about to start extricating himself from the situation when a woman’s voice from the greenery nearby startled both the human and the Akalak. As one, they turned to face the direction it was coming from. Orin found a dagger in his left hand, as his right wrist was still too injured to actually be functional. Internally cursing his luck, Orin hoped that this wasn’t a fight, because he wasn’t in good shape to do anything. Still, with a Knight by his side there was a chance the chef could make it out of this unscathed. Saga had already asked the woman’s name, so Orin decided to send out his own challenge. “Show yourself!”

The unknown woman obliged both their requests, and Orin felt his jaw drop. No…it couldn’t be. This woman couldn’t be Priskil. She never appeared to the likes of him. Maybe to the Knight but Orin doubted she’d do it when someone as unworthy as Orin was in the area. She was beautiful, and not just because of the light shining all around her.she had long, platinum blonde hair, with hazel eyes and a medium height with a gorgeous build. And she was completely, shockingly naked, with only a few strategically placed bits of light to save her from immodesty. Orin felt his cheek heated with embarrassment. Priskil wasn’t anything like he’d imagined her to be.

In fact, a lot of this didn’t add up. Priskil didn’t show up out of nowhere just to talk. She was too busy guarding her fallen lover. Because of that lover, she would never appear naked like this before another man, Orin felt. On top of all that, this radiant beauty, pun aside, didn’t match her personality at all. She was described as beautiful, sure, but humble, nothing like this rather brazen display. “H-h-hello,” Orin stammered out, following after Saga. He was so overwhelmed that it was all he could manage.

Cold fingers of dread were beginning to creep their way up his spine. Orin didn’t trust this situation at all. Still, if this wasn’t Priskil, then they weren’t being actively hostile yet, so Orin was withholding his final judgment. It would still pay to be cautious though. “M’name’s ah, Orin, Orin Fenix, ma’am.” At the strange word, Orin threw a startled glance at Saga? “Akontak?” the chef asked, puzzled. He’d never heard of the word before. This did give him the opportunity to get closer to Saga, and as Priskil started to smile in a way that didn’t feel genuine, Orin leaned into Saga. “Are you sure we should trust this? Or her?” The chef hoped the knight didn’t react poorly, but this situation was such an odd one that the human wanted reassurance. Perhaps his fears were baseless, but if they weren’t, then something truly odd was going on.